U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks recently visited Silicon Valley. What is her goal? It is to promote cooperation between the military and the scientific and technological communities, in order to cope with the competition between the great powers.
Hicks believes that this cooperation is a key factor in the global competition of the United States. "The military's cooperation with Silicon Valley is a vital part of the U.S. competition with great powers," she said. ”
The U.S. side is changing its strategy of investing in armaments. Instead of focusing solely on traditional heavy equipment such as tanks, ships, and aircraft, they are turning to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
In order to achieve this goal, the US side has a plan called the 'repeater'. At the heart of this plan is the rapid development of a large number of low-cost autonomous systems to deal with us within two years.
The United States** also supported this plan, allocating 1$1.5 billion to fund a division called the Office of Strategic Capital. The task of this department is to invest more money in companies that have important technologies and products.
Hicks is confident in the plan, and she hopes to convince companies in Silicon Valley to join it.
However, this plan has not been smooth sailing. Companies in Silicon Valley face some challenges.
First of all, they are not satisfied with the bureaucratic style of the US side. They feel that the people in the military are inefficient and arrogant.
Often, traditional defense contractors in the U.S. hire a lot of people who have worked in the military to make it easier to communicate with the military.
But Silicon Valley's tech companies and people in the military don't feel like they're on the same channel when they talk to each other. They feel that the military people are braggart and don't understand technology.
Secondly, they are also worried about money. Silicon Valley tech companies would have wanted to work with the military because it's a big customer.
However, the military is reluctant to sign an order contract with them.
There is a drone company called BRINC, which has this problem. The company's owner, Blake Resnick, said angrily: "The military has always said that it wants more manufacturing capabilities, but what about the list? They just don't place orders. ”
That's the most maddening question in the whole thing. ”
Why would I spend tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars to build a factory and then produce nothing? ”
He felt that the military just wanted the donkey to work and not give the donkey grass.
Hicks also acknowledges that the military's funding process and cycle is long, usually taking at least two years.
Yes, at least two years!
This is a big risk for companies with shorter funding cycles.
Can this issue of the grant process and cycle be solved?
It's hard to solve! For years, the military has tried to simplify the funding process, but with little effect.
Because this grant process involves many stakeholders, it is difficult to understand, and no one wants to change easily.
So, can the cooperation between the military and Silicon Valley be carried out smoothly and happily?
This can only depend on the timing arrangement.